The People First Party (PFP) yesterday denied reports that its chairman, James Soong (宋楚瑜), allegedly received kickbacks from a 1991 deal to purchase six Lafayette-class frigates and said that it would seek legal action against anyone who continues to spread such false reports.
Soong, and others, was listed in the “Suisse Secrets” investigation, under the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, and was shown to have, at one point, a maximum balance of 13,677,418 Swiss francs (US$14,884,177 at the current exchange rate) in a Credit Suisse account, which was opened in 1993 and closed in 2010.
The description of the account reads: “The Kuomintang (KMT) took him to court claiming he embezzled millions of dollars of the party’s funds, though the charges were eventually dropped. Later, Soong was accused by a former French foreign minister of receiving kickbacks from a 1991 navy procurement deal, signed while he was secretary-general of the KMT.”
Photo: CNA
The PFP called claims that former French minister of foreign affairs Roland Dumas gave Soong money preposterous.
Similar claims had been made before and investigated, with nothing pointing back at Soong, it added.
The party said it had provided statements and proofs refuting the claims of “certain individuals who have decided to translate foreign articles” to accuse Soong.
The government should issue a statement on the Lafayette issue to clear Soong’s name, the PFP said.
The party will take legal action against any person or media corporation accusing Soong of embezzling state funds, or alleging that he was implicated in the Lafayette case, it added.
Speaking with reporters in Taipei last night following an event to celebrate Japanese Emperor Naruhito’s birthday, Soong denied involvement in the scandal.
He said the allegations had been fabricated by the KMT in the run-up to the election in 2000, in an effort to discredit him and his supporters.
Soong also denied knowledge of funds linked to him in the Credit Suisse leak.
Separately, asked whether Taipei Deputy Mayor Vivian Huang (黃珊珊), a PFP member, should make a statement, Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) said he had asked Huang whether she would care to comment, but Huang said she was only a college senior at the time and would not know such things.
One should verify their source and ask those involved directly for comments, not those who have no connection with the case, Ko said.
‘NON-RED’: Taiwan and Ireland should work together to foster a values-driven, democratic economic system, leveraging their complementary industries, Lai said President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday expressed hopes for closer ties between Taiwan and Ireland, and that both countries could collaborate to create a values-driven, democracy-centered economic system. He made the remarks while meeting with an Irish cross-party parliamentary delegation visiting Taiwan. The delegation, led by John McGuinness, deputy speaker of the Irish house of representatives, known as the Dail, includes Irish lawmakers Malcolm Byrne, Barry Ward, Ken O’Flynn and Teresa Costello. McGuinness, who chairs the Ireland-Taiwan Parliamentary Friendship Association, is a friend of Taiwan, and under his leadership, the association’s influence has grown over the past few years, Lai said. Ireland is
FINAL COUNTDOWN: About 50,000 attended a pro-recall rally yesterday, while the KMT and the TPP plan to rally against the recall votes today Democracy activists, together with arts and education representatives, yesterday organized a motorcade, while thousands gathered on Ketagalan Boulevard in Taipei in the evening in support of tomorrow’s recall votes. Recall votes for 24 Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers and suspended Hsinchu City mayor Ann Kao (高虹安) are to be held tomorrow, while recall votes for seven other KMT lawmakers are scheduled for Aug. 23. The afternoon motorcade was led by the Spring Breeze Culture and Arts Foundation, the Tyzen Hsiao Foundation and the Friends of Lee Teng-hui Association, and was joined by delegates from the Taiwan Statebuilding Party and the Taiwan Solidarity
A saleswoman, surnamed Chen (陳), earlier this month was handed an 18-month prison term for embezzling more than 2,000 pairs of shoes while working at a department store in Tainan. The Tainan District Court convicted Chen of embezzlement in a ruling on July 7, sentencing her to prison for illegally profiting NT$7.32 million (US$248,929) at the expense of her employer. Chen was also given the opportunity to reach a financial settlement, but she declined. Chen was responsible for the sales counter of Nike shoes at Tainan’s Shinkong Mitsukoshi Zhongshan branch, where she had been employed since October 2019. She had previously worked
An SOS message in a bottle has been found in Ireland that is believed to have come from the Taiwanese captain of fishing vessel Yong Yu Sing No. 18 (永裕興18號), who has been missing without a trace for over four years, along with nine Indonesian crew members. The vessel, registered to Suao (蘇澳), went missing near Hawaii on Dec. 30, 2020. The ship has since been recovered, but the 10 crew members have never been found. The captain, surnamed Lee (李), is believed to have signed the note with his name. A post appeared on Reddit on Tuesday after a man